Following his hour-and-a half-lecture, Harvard Zoology and Geology Professor Stephen J. Gould lounged in his chair and answered questions, told jokes and signed copies of his books.
Several dozen students and members of the Upper Valley crowded around the podium last night at the end of the Class of 1930 Fellow's visit to meet the renowned scientist and science writer.
Gould spent time fielding questions and talking privately with audience members while signing books with a jovial grin and avoiding the flash of a photographer's camera.
"When I'm chatting with people I want to talk to them, not have a flashbulb going off in my face," Gould said.
Gould answered questions ranging from his definition of evolutionary progress to the differences between species complexity and specialization.
After the crowd of people dispersed, Gould spoke with The Dartmouth.
He acknowledged that while the topics discussed last night -- human arrogance regarding evolution and species complexity -- are topics that should be of interest both the public and the scientific community, the theories are not well-known to the public.
"It is not a radical theory among professionals ... although they may not take it as far as I do," Gould said. "But among the public it is not known and very hard to understand evolution when ... the straight ladder of progress is all we see."
During his lecture, Gould argued against the human bias that evolution favored the most complex organism and that evolutionary trends led to the inevitable rise of sentient creatures.
Gould said it is important to understand his model of evolution because "in some terms, anything we can do to knock down human arrogance is desirable, but it is important to get things right."
Gould said he arrived on campus late this afternoon. He said he has previously spoken at Dartmouth a couple of times.
"You can't be of my age and my level of activity and not show up on campuses," he said.
Gould said he is still teaching evolution at Harvard spring terms for undergraduates and graduate students which includes his history of life versus man's history of life. During the other terms, Gould does research and gives lectures across the country.
